Come What May
by greysfan16
Summary: What if Mark had called Sloane's mother when Sloane asked for her mother on Private Practice?
1. A Favor

A/N I know I have a ton of fics to finish but this would not leave me alone.

A Favor

She wanted her mother more than anything in the world right now. She had woken up from surgery that was necessary to make sure that her son had a normal life and she wanted her mother more than anything right now. Addison knew from Mark that Samantha Riley had kicked Sloane out when she had discovered that her eighteen year old was pregnant. Hearing Sloane ask for her mother was a surprise, but it was one that Addison had expected. When Sloane asked for her mother, Addison sighed. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do here. The logical thing was to call Samantha and let her know that her daughter was asking for her. Addison wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to put Sloane through that. Especially if Samantha wanted nothing to do with her daughter or grandson. How would Addison tell Sloane that her mother wanted nothing to do with her?

Addison had a sinking feeling that she needed to talk to Mark and see what his thoughts were on this situation. Okay so he hadn't seen Samantha since the day he had given her money, but maybe he had an idea on how to deal with Sloane's request that Addison couldn't quite think of.

"I am going to go talk to your father, okay?" Addison told Sloane before she patted the eighteen year old's hand

"I don't want him. I want my mommy." Sloane whispered, tears glittering in her blue eyes. She knew how it looked considering that her mom had kicked her out, but really she just wanted the woman who had given birth to her to be here. The baby's father had no desire to be involved and he had actually offered to drive her to the clinic to get the pregnancy terminated. He was a basketball player and he knew that a scandal like knocking up his high school girlfriend could affect his career and any possible scholarship offers that he could be in the running for. When she had told her mother that, her mother had said that he was much like Sloane's father and that if Sloane was going to be stupid enough to get knocked up by that kind of guy that she could do it alone just like Samantha had to.

"I know. We'll try to find her." Addison told her patient gently. Sloane grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen from her rollaway table and wrote down Samantha's cell phone number and put it in Addison's hands.

"Please call her. Or have Mark call her. I don't care. Just have someone call her." Sloane definitely could be polite when she wanted to be. Right now she was scared out of her mind and that was when the politeness came in.

"Okay." Addison told the young woman softly. She was in no way certain how Mark was going to handle this and she figured it best that she didn't speculate on that.

"I'm not ungrateful for what Mark has done for me. Really I-I'm not. He didn't have to take me in, but he did. I am also not stupid though. He did it out of guilt. Mom told me that he wanted her to terminate me." Sloane whispered as she played with the loose strings on her light blue hospital blanket. Addison wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to that. It didn't make sense why he wanted Samantha to terminate her pregnancy and then he flipped out when Addison had terminated hers. Maybe someday Addison would pluck up the courage to ask him why he had had such different reactions to both pregnancies.

"Well you should get some rest. I'll talk to your father and we'll decide who should make the call." Addison promised. Slone nodded, her blue eyes already half closed. Addison could not believe that she had Samantha Riley's number in her hand and Sloane wanted her mother called. Addison left Sloane's room and went in search of Mark.

She found him chatting up Charlotte King in the hallway. Not in a "I want to get in your pants" way but in a "the practice could really use a plastic surgeon" way. Addison was not happy with what she was seeing. Mark was having some sort of identity crisis that was causing him to consider moving to LA, but he did not belong here. Addison did not want to be followed anymore. Or at least that was what she kept telling herself.

"Mark!" Addison called down the hallway. She could see him say something to Charlotte and then he walked towards her.

"Sloane wants her mother." Addison told Mark before she put the piece of paper that held Samantha's phone number into Mark's hand.

"I'm calling her?" Mark asked with his eyebrows raised. He was not at all sure how the conversation would go. He hadn't spoken to the woman in nineteen years and he knew the conversation wouldn't be easy on either of them.

"You're Sloane's father." Addison pointed out. Okay so this wasn't a discussion over who would make the call as much as it was a command that Mark would make the call. Mark had already made the argument he was about to make in Seattle but he felt like had to make it again.

"Biologically yes, but not really. I wasn't there when she spoke her first word or took her first steps or when she graduated from kindergarten and elementary school and junior high. I wasn't there when she lost her first tooth or had her first boyfriend."

"But you are here now and she needs you to make this call for her. Do this for her Mark. Not for yourself or Samantha, but for your daughter who is scared to death." Addison told him softly. She could tell that he was nervous about calling his ex for the first time in nineteen years. She wasn't sure how much of a relationship Samantha and Mark had had but she wasn't sure it was her place to ask that question. Mark saw the question in her eyes and he sighed, knowing that she wanted some answers.

"I met her at Columbia in a basic chemistry class. She was sweet and nice and drop dead gorgeous too. We hit it off rather fast. I asked her out a week later and we spent six months together. I fell in love with her, but when she told me she was pregnant, I panicked. I couldn't handle having a baby and being in college at the same time. I felt that the baby deserved better than that. She managed to give me the news right before I was going into my Trigonometry midterm. When I met her later that afternoon, I gave her three hundred dollars and said that I was sorry but I couldn't be a father. I didn't want to be a father yet. She dropped out of Columbia and I never heard from her again."

Hearing the story from Mark, Addison was stunned into silence. She couldn't think of anything to say about the things that Mark had just told her.

"Did Derek ever meet her?" Addison asked. It seemed odd that Mark would have fallen in love with someone that Derek had never met.

"No he didn't. I liked her and I was concerned that Derek would run her off if I introduced them." Mark admitted. There were very few women he could be vulnerable around. Addison was at the top of that list. Lexie was or at least had been second until she had dumped him and Samantha, well she was the only other woman Mark ever loved and she had seen him vulnerable a few times when they were dating.

"Call her Mark." Addison whispered. She squeezed his shoulder and walked down the hallway to yell at Charlotte King for hinting that it would be good for a plastic surgeon to join the practice.

Mark watched Addison walk down the hallway, away from him and he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. His heart was thudding against his chest and he was nervous and he hadn't felt nervous like this in a really long time. He wiped his free hand on his pants and tried his best to concentrate on breathing because that was the only think he could focus on. A few days ago he had told Addison that she was as wound up as Mark had ever seen her, but now it was his turn to be wound up. He couldn't stand still. He had to keep moving. He punched in the first three numbers into his cell phone and he could swear he was having a panic attack. Even if it wasn't physically possible, he felt as though he could feel his blood pressure rising with each number he dialed. When all seven numbers plus the area code, plus the number one fore out of state calls were dialed, Mark stopped moving and he waited as Samantha's phone kept ringing and ringing.

The fact that she was not picking up her phone was really driving Mark nuts. He was already stressed out with Sloane nearly bleeding out on him in surgery and now he had to call his ex and tell her that their daughter wanted her. Finally she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Samantha answered

"Hi Sam" Mark greeted her. His nickname for her when they were dating was Sam so Mark hoped that he would not have to explain any more who he was. On the other line, Samantha had froze completely when she heard that voice. It had been nineteen years since she saw the man, but she would recognize that voice anywhere. Him calling her Sam only cemented her confidence that it was Mark Sloan on the other line. She had no idea why Mark was calling her after nineteen years and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

"I'm guessing the little slut found you then?" Samantha asked coldly. She was not happy with her daughter getting knocked up. She was still in high school. Samantha had all sorts of plans for her daughter and then Sloane had ruined it by getting pregnant and dropping out of school.

"You know, I'd appreciate it if you didn't call her a slut. She's not a slut Sam." Mark told her calmly, though inwardly he was seething. That was why Sloane called herself a slut. Samantha must have called her that. Mark hated that his eighteen year old daughter had called herself a slut. He hated even more that her mother had called her a slut.

"She's my daughter, I'll call her whatever the hell I want to call her." Samantha snapped.

"She's our daughter and I will not stand for you calling her that." Mark snapped.

"Oh so now that she is all grown up. Now she's your daughter." Samantha asked with a very obvious edge to her voice.

"Shut up Sam." Mark growled. He slipped into an empty room so he could yell and scream as much as he wanted to.

"You were the one who called me after nineteen years. What do you want?" Samantha asked in a bored tone of voice. She already was bored by this conversation.

"Our daughter wants you." Mark told Samantha quietly. Now the ball was in Samantha's court. Would she come back to motherhood or would she disappoint her daughter. Mark wasn't sure what would happen. He had become a father, but he had a feeling that Samantha had relinquished the mother title when she kicked Sloane out.


	2. Samantha Riley

A/N Even though I didn't get a single review, I am still going to write this fic. There will definitely be Maddison all throughout the fic.

Samantha Riley

Samantha couldn't believe that her daughter was actually asking for her. She hadn't spoken to her daughter in weeks, though she knew that Sloane had left her countless messages on her voicemail. So she knew that Sloane was with her father because that was what Sloane had told her in the voicemails. But hearing Sloane say it and actually having it confirmed really was two different things. She wasn't a horrible person. She really did love her daughter but she had had so many plans for her daughter and they had all been crushed when her daughter told her that she was pregnant. Honestly she had regretted kicking Sloane out from the moment that she had done it. She couldn't let Sloane know that though so she pretended that she didn't give a damn about her daughter and grandchild. Not picking up the phone when her daughter called had been a really hard thing for her to do.

Sloane was a beautiful girl and when she was asked out by the high school basketball's power forward Joshua Campbell at the beginning of her senior year, Samantha was afraid that something like this would happen. It had happened to her when she was just a little older than Sloane.

She had met Mark in a chemistry class at Columbia on their first day. He was gorgeous and smart, funny and Samantha was naïve enough to believe that he wasn't going to be the typical jock and that he wasn't going to use her. And she was right, for the most part. He asked her out a week later and they took their time getting to the physical part of their relationship. He respected her which was a surprise to her. When she told him that she was pregnant, she could see the panic in his eyes. She knew about his crappy childhood so she was sure that the panicky feeling was out of fear. Fear that he would be a horrible father just like his father was to him. Mark went into his midterm and then when he met her later that afternoon he told her that he just couldn't do it. That he was sorry but he wasn't ready to be a father. Samantha dropped out of Columbia and never spoke to Mark again.

It had been nineteen years since she had heard his voice and she couldn't believe how similar it sounded. She wanted to make things right with her daughter but she felt as though Sloane had to do this on her own. Samantha's own mother Jacqueline had felt that Samantha needed to do it alone as well so that was the reason that Samantha was forcing Sloane to do the same.

"She had to have surgery Sam. The baby…Well the baby needed surgery to have a normal life." Mark explained quietly. He had no idea why Samantha was resisting coming to see her daughter. He could tell that Samantha was not happy with Sloane for getting pregnant, but Mark felt that Samantha needed to be there for her daughter. Mark was doing the best he could but he was not a woman and he had never been through pregnancy or childbirth. Sloane needed her mother. When Samantha heard that Sloane had just had surgery and that the baby had needed it to have a normal life, Samantha was concerned for the first time since the conversation began. She knew that surgery on a pregnant woman was risky and now she just wanted to know that Sloane, her beautiful daughter, was okay.

"Is she going to be okay?" Samantha asked in a much softer voice. Mark was startled by Samantha's use of her soft voice which she hadn't utilized during the whole conversation.

"Yeah. She and the baby…our grandson are just fine." Mark told Samantha softly. He still had a hard time believing that he was going to be a grandpa in eighteen weeks. He was excited though and he wanted to help Sloane raise the baby. He viewed this as his second chance. When Samantha heard that Sloane and the baby were just fine, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Then realized that Mark had said grandson.

"It's a boy?" Samantha asked softly.

"Yeah it is." Mark confirmed. He had a feeling that Samantha had kicked Sloane out because of a knee jerk reaction. He was getting the feeling that Samantha regretted kicking Sloane out.

"I miss her." Samantha admitted. She and her daughter had had a rough relationship, particularly once Sloane started going out with Joshua Campbell.

"Then come to LA." Mark told her. He walked around the empty room that he was in, hoping that Samantha would not disappoint her daughter. The fact that Samantha admitted to missing her was huge and Mark hoped that would be enough to get her to come to LA. Mark finally sat down in a conference chair and listened to Samantha.

"Okay." Samantha finally whispered as she clutched her cell phone tightly to her ear. Mark was stunned. He had no idea that Samantha would agree to come to LA so quickly. He was glad though. For as much as he loved his daughter, he didn't feel confident that he could handle this on his own. She needed her mother too in addition to her father. And if he were honest with himself, Mark wanted to see Samantha. He hadn't seen or spoken to her in nineteen years and he couldn't help but be curious about her life since then.

"Really?" Mark asked. He couldn't help but sound surprised. Samantha couldn't blame him for sounding surprised. She had started the conversation quite rudely, but Mark had managed to break through her tough exterior fast. She hadn't had a tough exterior nineteen years ago, but she had developed one since then.

"Yes, I'll call you when I am at the airport." Samantha told Mark. Now she was calm and collected. She could not let Mark know how much hearing from him had affected her.

"I'll come get you when you get here." Mark promised. Then Mark remembered a conversation that he had had with Sloane. She had touched on the father of the baby but didn't say much about him. Mark wondered if Samantha knew anything about him.

"The father?" Mark asked. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know anything about the father of his grandson. Particularly if the father had behaved like Mark had.

"Her high school boyfriend. Player on the Varsity basketball team." Samantha replied. She knew that her daughter had been hurt by this guy and his reaction to the baby. Much the same way she had felt when Mark walked out on her and his unborn daughter.

"Name?" Mark demanded. He wanted to track down this kid and kick his ass for knocking Sloane up and then walking out on her. Okay so technically it wasn't all his fault that Sloane was pregnant, but Mark was not ready to lay all the blame on his daughter. Plus this kid needed to face responsibility. Mark wanted to kill him for walking away from Sloane and the baby.

"I am not giving you the kid's name so you can track him down and kill him Mark, He's just a kid." Samantha told Mark. Mark was not happy that it seemed as if Samantha was defending the guy who had knocked their daughter up.

"He knocked up our daughter Sam and he isn't even taking responsibility for it." Mark pointed out angrily.

"Boy who does THAT sound like?" Samantha asked sarcastically. Of course she was referring to Mark's reaction when she told him that he was going to be a father.

"This is not about me or my reaction to Sloane, Sam so don't you dare try and bring that up." Mark snapped. Samantha was pretty sure she was going to rip out her blonde hair. Mark was being infuriating right now. She guessed it was due to his new role as Sloane's father. She wanted to smack some sense into her ex boyfriend because he didn't seem to realize that he had been a lot like Joshua Campbell when they were in college and she had told him that she was pregnant.

"It's exactly the same Mark. The only difference is that Sloane was still in high school. I was in college. Both you and Sloane's boyfriend reacted the same way." Samantha yelled into the phone. She had a very hot temper sometimes and Mark was forcing it to come out.

"Except, she's my kid. I still don't feel like a father, but knowing that her boyfriend reacted so horribly to the news makes me want to rip the kid apart." Mark murmured. Okay so that statement didn't exactly make sense with the context of the rest of the conversation, but Mark felt like Samantha should know how he was feeling.

"You care about her." Samantha murmured. She never thought that Sloane would be lucky enough to have her father in her life and it seemed as though she was wrong. From what Samantha could see, Mark was trying to be the father he never would have been nineteen years ago.

"She's my kid. I may not have been there for her…or you before now, but I love her." Mark admitted. He had a lot of guilt for the way he had handled everything nineteen years ago. He wanted to be involved in Sloane's life from this point on. He was hoping that this would be his second chance to prove that he could be a decent father. Sloane was a good kid and she reminded Mark of himself in so many ways.

"I can tell." Samantha admitted. Mark had become a father at some point since he had met Sloane. Samantha just wasn't sure at what point it had happened.

"She's a good kid Sam. She's scared and she won't let me see her because she wants you." Mark told her. He hated not being wanted by his own kid, but he understood that sometimes a girl needed her mother. This was one of those times.

"I'll be on the next plane out." Samantha told Mark. Mark still had no idea where Samantha and Sloane lived so he was hoping that Samantha would tell him now.

"Where are you living?" Mark asked curiously. He didn't understand why Sloane never told him but he was sure Samantha was about to tell him.

"Las Vegas." Samantha told Mark. She knew how it would sound to Mark and she hated the implication. They didn't live in the trashy part of Las Vegas. She made decent money as a dental hygienist. She never once considered being a stripper or anything like that. She wanted her daughter to be proud of her and she wanted to be a positive role model for her daughter. Mark on the other hand didn't know what to say. He had been to Las Vegas once for a plastic surgery conference and he hadn't been that impressed with the city. He was hoping that Samantha hadn't resorted to stripping to keep her and Sloane living comfortably. Samantha knew exactly what Mark was thinking and she sighed knowing that he had every right to believe that.

"I know what you are thinking Mark." Samantha whispered. She could practically hear Mark frowning.

"Yeah that you brought up our daughter in a stripper city." Mark replied.

"We didn't live in the trashy part of Las Vegas." Samantha told him quietly.

"So what do you do?" Mark asked calmly. He hoped that she wasn't about to tell him that she was an exotic dancer or something similar to that. That would be a real step down from being a student at Columbia nineteen years ago.

"I'm a dental hygienist." Samantha told him. Mark was relieved and surprised at the same time. Relieved that his daughter hadn't grown up with an exotic dancer for a mother and surprised that Samantha had gone to school to become a dental hygienist.

"You thought I was a stripper didn't you? You thought I would bring up our daughter in that life?" Samantha accused Mark as she did her best to wipe away the tears that were slipping out of her green eyes and down her pale cheeks. She never would have done that. Stripping and being an exotic dancer was never even a thought in her head.

"I wasn't sure Sam. I am just glad that you didn't do that." Mark told her honestly.

Just then, Addison popped her head into the conference room. Mark looked up at her wondering if something was wrong. Mark was sure that Addison would not have interrupted him unless it was important. So now he was worried about Sloane and his grandson.

"Sloane's awake again and she's asking for you." Addison told Mark before she stepped back out of the room. Mark had to get off of the phone so he could go be with his daughter.

"Sam, I have to go. She's awake again and she's asking for me." Mark spoke rather hurriedly into the phone.

"Okay, tell her I am coming and that I'll see her in a few hours." Samantha told Mark. Before Mark could say anything to her, Samantha had hung up the phone. Mark put his phone back into his pants pocket and made his way back to Sloane's room.

When he walked into her room, she was sitting up in bed talking to Addison. Mark really wasn't sure what they were discussing, but when he saw a picture in Sloane's hand, Mark groaned. He was sure that Addison had brought some pictures of Mark from medical school so that Sloane had an idea of what her dad looked like way back then.

"God Mark who put the beard on you?" Sloane asked as she held up the picture of Mark with a beard made out of permanent marker.

"That would be my ex husband." Addison told Sloane with a smile. Mark remembered that night and how horribly smashed he and Derek had both gotten while Addison sat sober and rolling her eyes at the pair of them. Sloane put down the picture and looked at Mark. She was hoping that her dad had managed to talk her mom into coming to LA to be with her.

"Did you talk to my mom?" Sloane asked, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. She was almost afraid to hear what her mother had had to say to the man who had knocked her up nineteen years ago.

"Yeah I did talk to your mother. And she's coming honey." Mark told his daughter. He was so happy that he was able to give his daughter good news about that. Sloane was surprised that her mother was coming. She had expected her to refuse to come to LA.

"Really, she's actually coming?" Sloane asked her father anxiously. She felt as though she had to be sure.

"Yes I have to go pick her up at the airport when her flight gets in." Mark explained to both Addison and Sloane. He looked at Addison and before he could even open his mouth to say one word, she spoke,

"Of course I'll stay here with Sloane. I can tell her all sorts of stories about you."

That was what Mark was afraid of. He knew he had been anything but a saint in medical school and he was honestly afraid of the stories that Addison would tell his daughter. When Addison saw the look on his face, she smirked smugly.

"Or I can always have Derek fly to LA and spill embarrassing stories of your childhood to your daughter." Addison threatened sweetly. She knew she had him good and cornered now. Sloane was now laughing at the light banter between her doctor and her father. The laughing caused the incision to hurt and she flinched. Mark looked at her, concern clouding his grey eyes.

"Is something wrong sweetie?" Mark asked anxiously.

"No Daddy-"Sloane froze when she realized that she had called Mark, Daddy. She hadn't intended to and now she was worried that he might be mad that she had called him Daddy. Mark too had froze in place. He had honestly never expected to hear anyone call him Daddy so to hear Sloane fall into it on accident was in no way a bad thing. Addison slipped out of Sloane's room, knowing that father and daughter needed to talk alone.

"Honey I don't mind if you call me Daddy. Just like I never minded when you called me Mark. I wasn't around when you were a kid and we missed out on a lot of stuff. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable calling me." Mark told her as he reached for her hand and held it.

"I think I'd like to try calling you Dad. Just to see if it sounds right." Sloane told her father shyly. Mark smiled. He liked the idea of her calling him Dad.

"That sounds good. How about you get some sleep. I'll be right here with you until I have to leave to pick up your mother." Mark told her. He knew that she was still in a lot of pain and he was worried for her and his grandson. His eyes never left the fetal heart monitor. He was still scared for her and he knew that she was in no way out of the woods yet. He watched her drift off to sleep and his hand smoothed her blonde hair off of her face before it returned to rest on top of his other hand, leaving both hands to rest on her right hand.

He got a text message from Samantha an hour later telling him that her plane would arrive at ten pm that night. It was already five so Mark settled in for a long evening of watching the monitor obsessively. Addison, Sam and Naomi tried to talk him into going to the cafeteria for some coffee, but Mark wouldn't budge. He stayed at Sloane's bedside until Addison came to get him a nine pm. Mark bent his head and kissed his daughter's forehead and whispered,

"I'll be back soon with your mom okay."

"Thank you Dad. Good night." Sloane muttered sleepily.

Addison looked at Mark before he left Sloane's room, unable to believe how much all of this had changed him. He was a different guy and she had to admit that this caring father thing was incredibly hot. His concern for his daughter was a major turn on for her.

"Drive carefully Mark." Addison whispered.

"I will Red." Mark promised, using his nickname for her that he hadn't used in years. He took one last look at Sloane and at the fetal heart monitor before he left her room. He was on his way to LAX airport to pick up her mother. Mark had not seen nor heard from this woman in nineteen years. Mark knew that it was going to be an interesting reunion and he was looking forward to it.


	3. Reunion

A/N This really is my favorite chapter and it's something we'll never see. So enjoy.

Reunion

It wasn't long before Mark was pulling into the LAX airport. During the twenty minute drive to the airport, all Mark had thought of was the day that she had told him that she was pregnant. Mark had been furious because he was heading into his Trigonometry midterm and Samantha had picked this very moment to drop a bombshell on him. The Trigonometry test had gone well but that was only because Mark was on autopilot. He knew how to do the stuff that was on the test and that left him time to consider his options with regards to the baby. By the time he had come out of that test he had realized that he was in no way ready to be a father. He had gone to get money out of his bank account, feeling confident that she would not want to have the baby so his guilt was relatively low. When he gave her the money a few hours later, he had told her that he was not ready to be a father. He never saw her again after that. Mark would be lying to himself if he tried to say that he had never thought of her because he had thought of her occasionally in the past nineteen years. He was sure that she hadn't had the baby so he never thought of the baby that he could have been a father to.

He knew that he couldn't go to her gate to meet her because of the security restrictions so he waited down by baggage claim, not knowing if she had actually checked baggage. He walked over to check the board where they had the list of recent flights in and out and if they were on time, late or early. He saw that the 10pm flight from Las Vegas was on time and due to arrive within a half an hour which would make it right around ten pm. He was grateful that there was a coffee shop on the first level so he went and got his coffee at the coffee stand. They didn't have his bone dry cappuccino so he settled for a regular cappuccino. He sat down on a bench near the elevator so he could see her when she came down to the first level.

Samantha could feel the plane descending into LA and her stomach only knotted up for what seemed like the tenth time during the flight. She had no idea what this was going to be like. She had no idea how they would act around each other. She just knew that it would not be easy on either of them so she was bracing for some awkwardness for awhile. She would stay in LA for as long as Sloane wanted her to. Maybe she would even move here if Sloane planned on staying here in LA. She had brought so much of Sloane's baby things for Mark to look at. She had so many pictures and a baby book and she had even brought along her "pregnancy journal" she had written in it every day when she was pregnant with Sloane. She had hoped that someday Mark would find out about his daughter and then Samantha would be able to share everything with him. A gay friend of hers Keith had videotaped all of Sloane's major moments in her life and that was also being brought along so Mark could look at them when and if he was ready to.

It may have been nineteen years ago since Mark had walked out of her life but she still remembered telling him about the pregnancy. She had been scared and anxious. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to this news.

_-FLASHBACK-_

_Twenty-one year old Samantha Riley was anxious. She had no idea how she was going to tell her boyfriend of only a few months that she was pregnant. The question of paternity never entered her mind. She had never cheated on him. She knew it was his because he was the only guy she had been with in months. She had pulled her blond hair into a ponytail and hoped that she would catch him before he went into his Trigonometry midterm. When she saw him sitting on the floor in the hallway in front of his classroom, Samantha sighed with relief. He was still able to talk and no one else was there to hear what she was about to tell him._

_"Mark?" Samantha spoke._

_Twenty one year old Mark Sloan looked up from his notes that were spread out around him and smiled at his girlfriend of a few months. She was a smart woman and he liked her. More than he thought he would when they first started dating. That was the primary reason he would not let his best friend of fifteen years meet her._

_"Hey Sam." Mark greeted her as he put his notes aside and stood up to hug her and kiss her. He could tell something was going on and he wasn't quite sure what it was. Her green eyes always sparkled when they looked at him, but today there was something else in her eyes. Apprehension, concern, worry, fear? Mark really wasn't sure what was happening._

_"Look…I really need to tell you something and I get it, the timing sucks, but I just need to spit it out." Samantha told Mark. She was still in his arms and she wasn't sure if she would still be in his arms in a second. She liked Mark a lot. He believed in her more than anyone else did. Her mother Jacqueline didn't think that she could make it at Columbia._

_"Tell me." Mark told her softly as he pushed a piece of her blond hair out of her green eyes._

_"I'm pregnant." Samantha whispered. That was one thing that Mark had not expected to come out of his girlfriend's mouth. She was pregnant. He was going to be a father in a few months. Samantha was right. This was quite possibly the worst timing Samantha could have had to tell him this. He was facing a midterm in like five minutes and now he was too stunned to speak let alone think. He dropped his hands from her body and he struggled to come up with the right words to speak. Samantha sighed when Mark's hands dropped from her body. She had known that was going to happen._

_"Wow." Mark muttered as he ran his hand through his short hair, trying to wrap his mind around the news. He was finally able to say something. He just couldn't believe it. He had been sure that they were being careful enough to avoid this._

_"How could this happen?" Was Mark's next question as he continued to run his hand through his short light brown hair. He did that when he was trying to come up with something to say. Samantha raised a blonde eyebrow and looked at Mark. She could not believe he was asking that._

_"You are going to be a doctor and you don't know how you knocked me up?" Samantha asked skeptically._

_"I know how it happened…but we were careful. We made sure that you wouldn't get knocked up." Mark muttered._

_"Well it happened and we have to make some decisions." Samantha told Mark seriously. Mark looked at her and shook his head._

_"Not now Sam. I have to go take my test."_

_"You'll call me when the midterm is over right?" Samantha asked as she chewed lightly on her bottom lip. Normally Mark would find that adorable, but right now, his mind was racing. He was still stunned that he had managed to get Samantha pregnant. They had been so careful because neither of them were ready for parenthood._

_"Yeah I will." Mark promised halfheartedly. He kissed her cheek and then he walked into his classroom._

_-END FLASHBACK_

Even after nineteen years, Samantha remembered those moments after he had gone into his classroom so well. He had seemed so upset and even angry. Like she had gotten knocked up on purpose. Of course Samantha hadn't done that. She had had no intention of having kids until she was older. She knew that she was not ready to be a mom. She wanted a career and to be financially stable first. She also remembered meeting Mark for coffee later that day. She remembered hoping that Mark was on board with this because she didn't feel like she could kill it. She was definitely pro choice, but this was her baby and she wasn't sure she could knowingly kill it.

_FLASHBACK-_

_She remembered meeting him for coffee later that day. She could tell that she was not going to like whatever he had to say from the moment she laid eyes on him. He had that look of exhaustion on his face that she was sure was part her and part his midterm. Samantha knew that he had no intention on staying with her or being there for his child. His face told her all she needed to know._

_"Sam, I thought about it. A lot and I am just not ready for all of this." Mark told her as soon as he sat down opposite her. Samantha bit her lip hard, unable to believe that Mark was just walking out on them. She was so hoping that Mark would want to do this with her but she had apparently been wrong._

_"Oh." Samantha whispered._

_"Here is some money." Mark told her before he put three hundred dollars on the table and got up._

_"You aren't even going to apologize?" Samantha demanded._

_"For what? For being honest in saying that I am not ready for this?" Mark snapped._

_"No! Apologize for the way you are behaving towards me." Samantha answered._

_"Did you really think I would want to give up my goal of being a doctor to play house with a woman I just started dating a few months ago?" Mark demanded, in complete disbelief. Mark knew that Samantha was angrier than hell at him for walking out on her and their unborn child but he was not ready for the father thing and there was no reason to lie about that. He didn't even wait for her to answer. He just walked out of the coffee shop without another word._

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Samantha remembered crying as she watched him leave the coffee shop without another word to her. That was the moment that she decided to have the baby and to keep the baby. She wasn't religious by any stretch of the imagination but she couldn't imagine having an abortion and killing her own flesh and blood. The fact that Mark had given her money told her that he expected her to abort the baby. Samantha made the decision that she would use the money for baby things. She had no intention of ever telling Mark that she was going to have the baby. He had walked out on them and in doing so he had lost the right to know.

She felt the plane hit the concrete and she took a deep shuddering breath. The moment of truth was almost here. In about thirty minutes or so she would be meeting the man who she had started to fall in love with right before she had discovered her pregnancy. She missed her daughter too and she was really looking forward to seeing her. Being a grandmother at her age was not going to be fun, but she had promised herself when Sloane was born that she would be a better mother than her own mother had been to her. Samantha had broken that promise the day she had kicked Sloane out of the house. Now Samantha wanted to rectify that mistake just as she guessed Mark was working on rectifying his mistakes by allowing Sloane to stay with him and just generally being the father that Sloane had never had.

Mark heard the announcement that the ten pm flight from Las Vegas had arrived and that passengers would begin deboarding shortly. He knew that it would take awhile for Samantha to get off of the plane and down to him, but he couldn't help the anxious feeling that he had. He had not seen the woman in nineteen years. He guessed that he was justified in having those feelings of anxiety. A guy was standing next to him and when the announcement faded, the mystery guy looked at Mark.

"Waiting for someone coming from Las Vegas?" The guy asked. Mark was surprised that this complete stranger was talking to him. He blamed it on the friendliness of a lot of people in LA. Mark honestly wished that he would just go away though.

"Yeah." Came Mark's short answer. He had no intention on spilling his life story to this guy.

"Wife? Kids?" Came the reply from the very persistent guy standing two feet away from Mark. Mark didn't want to have to be rude, but he had no intention of telling this guy the whole story of how he got to be here.

"My daughter's mother." Mark finally answered shortly.

"Divorced? Doesn't sound like an amicable one." The guy pointed out. Mark gritted his teeth wanting to shut the guy up. Mark wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now and this persistent, obnoxious nosy man was not leaving Mark alone.

"Never married." Mark finally muttered hoping that the guy would take the hint and shut up. Granted Mark was the one who kept engaging him so he really needed to keep his own trap shut if he wanted the other guy to do the same thing.

"Single parenting must be difficult." The man commented, mistakenly thinking that Mark was the single parent.

This time Mark did not take the bait. He really did not feel like talking and this guy wasn't getting that. Mark was anxious enough without having to engage in conversation with a stranger. In the past Mark would have told him to shut up and then he'd walk away. He was trying to be a better person now so that meant no being rude to complete strangers or to people who had done nothing wrong.

"You know I bet she is anxious too." The man said as he studied Mark's face.

As horrible as it sounded, Mark realized that he had only been thinking about how nervous and anxious he was about seeing Samantha for the first time in nineteen years. Finally the mystery guy had said something that had struck a chord with him. Mark felt bad that he hadn't even considered that Samantha was feeling just as anxious as he was. Mark had a feeling that this whole thing was not easy on her either and he felt guilt for not realizing that.

"Seeing you won't be easy on her either." The man added.

Mark let out a slow breath as he listened to the mystery guy, whose name Mark still did not know. He could not believe that he hadn't even considered how Samantha was handling everything. Before Sloane came into his life, he hadn't thought about Samantha in years. Now that he was minutes away from seeing her again, she was all he could think about.

"Thank you." Mark told the man politely. The mystery man really had given Mark something to ponder while he waited for Samantha.

"Steven Jefferson." The man finally introduced himself.

"Mark Sloan." Mark replied.

"It's good to meet you and I hope things work out for you and your daughter's mother." Steven told Mark kindly. Before Mark could tell him that he was not trying to romantically reconcile with Samantha, Steven was gone. Enveloped by the sudden crowd that Mark hadn't noticed until now. He had a feeling that Samantha was in that crazy crowd somewhere.

Mark was right about Samantha's whereabouts. She was in that crowd of people who had just arrived from Las Vegas. Now her fellow passengers had dispersed and they were now greeting whoever had come to pick them up at this late hour. When a few more people brushed past her, she finally had a clear view. She saw Mark holding his coffee cup almost instantly. She was nervous and anxious. He looked very much like he had looked nineteen years ago. His hair was greyer and he certainly looked older, but his eyes were still the same piercing slate color they had been nineteen years ago. Mark could barely take his eyes off the woman approaching him. She still had the long blond hair and the vivid green eyes that she had had nineteen years ago. She was still beautiful like she had been then. Mark thought she was aging quite well. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to hug her or shake her hand. This was when his uncertainty and awkwardness came in.

"Hi Mark." Samantha spoke nervously once she reached him. Mark noted with surprise that she still nibbled her bottom lip when she was nervous or anxious. He wasn't about to tell her that he remembered that little habit of hers.

"Hi Sam." Mark greeted her. He was definitely nervous and he was sure that Samantha could tell. Seeing Samantha again was something he had never planned on and now that it was here, Mark was even more nervous than he was before she had arrived.

"Uh…How was the flight?" Mark asked. He really was not sure what else he was supposed to talk to her about right now.

"Good…Uneventful." Samantha replied. She really was not sure what she was supposed to do here. Hug her ex or just shake his hand.

"Uneventful is good." Mark answered awkwardly. Mark did not like awkward situations and this was definitely an awkward situation.

"Yeah it is." Samantha replied as she looked at Mark. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. She knew she was taking a risk but this was a risk she was willing to take. Mark was surprised that she was hugging him but he wrapped his own arms around her and hugged her back. She had not been in his arms since right before she had told him she was pregnant. Being in his arms felt exactly the same as it had felt all those years ago. Samantha no longer felt anything romantic for Mark but she did remember how good it felt in his arms.

"How's Sloane?" Samantha asked concernedly.

"She's good. She's sleeping a lot right now, but that's normal." Mark told Samantha before he pulled away from her embrace.

"Let's go get my luggage and then go to the hospital." Samantha told Mark. She needed to see her daughter. She also needed to apologize for kicking her out. It really wasn't right and Samantha had regretted it ever since. Samantha had come to realize that Sloane needed her. Even Samantha knew that Sloane was in no way ready to be a mother. She wanted to do what her mother never did for her and that was help Sloane out with the baby. Samantha's and Mark's grandson. Samantha could not believe that she was going to be a grandmother in a few months, but that didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that Sloane had both her parents supporting her for the first time in her life. Samantha knew that her daughter deserved that and she was glad that Mark was in Sloane's life.

"Just how many bags did you bring?" Mark asked. They had never gone away together when they were in school so Mark had no idea how Samantha packed. Samantha's cheeks turned a light tinge of pink when Mark asked her that question. She had had a lot of things to bring and she had spared no expense with the number of bags she had brought.

"Two duffle bags and three suitcases." Samantha admitted as more color flooded her cheeks.

"Don't you think that's a little much?" Mark asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"The suitcases are pictures and Sloane's baby book and my pregnancy journal for you to look at. I also brought all of the home movies for you to watch." Samantha replied softly. She went back to nibbling her bottom lip. She really was not sure how he was going to react to her explanation. Mark couldn't believe what Samantha had done for him. He had never expected her to be willing to share memories of her pregnancy and Sloane's childhood with him. Not after he had walked away from them.

"Thank you." Mark told her sincerely.

"I thought you'd want to see everything." Samantha told him.

"Let's go see her." Mark told her. He had to change the subject because if he allowed himself to dwell on the fact that Samantha had actually brought things from Sloane's childhood to show him, the guilt would only feel worse.

"Baggage claim first." Samantha reminded him. Mark nodded, knowing that she was right. They had to get her five pieces of luggage off of the conveyor belt first before they could go to the hospital.

An hour later Mark had pulled into the hospital parking lot. He had a feeling that Samantha would want to stay with Sloane tonight. That was fine because Mark knew that she did not have a place to stay and he knew Addison wouldn't like Samantha staying with her even thought Sloane and Mark had been staying with her. Plus Mark really needed to talk to Addison. Mark had decisions to make and he really didn't want to make them without knowing if Addison wanted him here. Samantha got out of Mark's car and she followed him into St Ambrose with her purse resting on her shoulder.

When they reached Sloane's floor of the hospital, the first person they saw was Charlotte King. Mark was surprised that she was still there but then he remembered that she was having relationship issues. He had overheard that from Sam and the quack guy Pete. Mark had never met two men who gossiped as much as Pete and Sam did. Of course he refused to call himself or Derek gossipers so they were not in the equation..

"Visiting hours for non family members are over Sloan you know that." Charlotte reminded him as soon as she approached him.

"She's her mother Charlotte." Mark informed Charlotte instantly. Charlotte was surprised but now that she looked at the woman, she could see the resemblance between Sloane and her mother. Not as much of a resemblance as Sloane had to her dad though.

"She looks more like you Sloan." Charlotte informed Mark.

"I'd like to see my daughter now." Samantha told both Mark and whoever this woman was. Upon closer inspection of her ID hanging on her white jacket, Samantha discovered the other blonde woman's name was Charlotte King. She had always known that Sloane looked more like her dad but she really didn't feel like having a stranger comment on it. It wasn't Charlotte King's place to comment on it.

"Yes let's go see her." Mark agreed as he headed off to Sloane's door with Samantha following him. He turned and glared at Charlotte before turning around and continuing the walk to Sloane's room with Samantha. Charlotte's specialty may have been sexology, but saying that Sloane looked like her dad in front of her mother was unacceptable. Charlotte stared after the two of them and then she walked off in the opposite direction.

When Mark and Samantha reached the door, Mark opened in and let Samantha in first. He was right behind her. The first person they both saw was Addison who was sitting by Sloane's bed reading Cosmopolitan magazine. Sloane appeared to still be sleeping and Mark had a feeling that she really needed it. Addison stood up from her place by Sloane's bed where she had been reading for the last hour and a half. She walked over to where Samantha and Mark stood and held out her hand in introduction to Samantha.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Addison Montgomery. I am your daughter's surgeon." Addison told Samantha politely.

"It's good to meet you. Thank you for saving my daughter and grandson." Samantha told her softly.

"They are both doing very well now and I'll be releasing your daughter in a few days once she is off all IV drugs." Addison informed the woman with a smile. She too saw the resemblance between Sloane and her mother but like Charlotte, she could see more of Mark in Sloane. Of course she was not going to voice that fact to her mother. Samantha approached the bed and she took Addison's vacated seat and Mark stood on the other side of the bed.

"She wanted you to wake her up." Addison told both Mark and Samantha. She felt awkward now and she thought that maybe it would be best if she left the three of them alone. Samantha squeezed her daughter's hand and whispered,

"Baby ,it's Mom. Wake up."

Sloane's grey-blue eyes slowly opened and they focused on her mother first and then her father. She couldn't believe that they were finally both here together. She knew that they weren't going to get back together or anything. In fact she had a feeling that her dad was in love with her doctor. Of course Sloane hadn't exactly voiced that opinion to anyone though she had considered mentioning it to her dad.

"Hi Mom." Sloane whispered softly as she struggled to fully wake up.

Samantha knew that she had made the right decision when she chose to come out to LA to be with her daughter. She knew that Mark's phone call was the best thing that could happen to her and Sloane. She loved her daughter and she was glad that her daughter had asked for her.

"How's my grandson?" Samantha asked softly before she smiled at her daughter. Sloane looked up at her dad who was also smiling. She figured that her dad had told her mother that it was a boy.

"He's good. He was kicking for awhile until he fell asleep." Sloane told her mother. Sloane looked at Addison, wondering if she should tell her parents what they had talked about. She decided to wait for a bit. Samantha looked at Mark and commented,

"I am going to stay with her tonight."

Mark nodded, knowing that Samantha and Sloane needed to catch up. They hadn't seen each other in several months and they needed the time alone.

"That's good. I'll go back to Addison's place and get some rest." Mark told Samantha and Sloane. Sloane wasn't stupid. She knew that they had not been sleeping while she and her dad stayed with Addison before her surgery. She raised a blond eyebrow and looked at her dad.

"Sleeping huh Dad?" Sloane asked her father innocently. Mark knew what his daughter meant and he could not believe that she was aware of what was going on between himself and Addison. Samantha looked at Addison in surprise, suspecting that her daughter knew something that she didn't know.

"Are you two…together?" Samantha asked hesitantly. She really was not sure that she wanted the answer to that question but it was a question waiting to be asked.

"No we aren't." Addison told Samantha rather quickly. Mark was surprised at how quickly she had answered the question and he was a little hurt, but he would never actually admit that to anyone, least of all her.

"Come on Addison. Let's let them have some time alone." Mark told Addison as he turned to look at her.

"It's late." Addison commented as she looked at Mark.

"Yes and we all need sleep." Mark commented back. He bent and kissed Sloane's forehead and kissed Samantha's cheek. The kiss on Samantha's cheek was an impulse kiss but he felt it was the right thing to do.

"Sloane has my cell number. Call me if you two need anything." Mark told Sloane and Samantha before he turned to walk out of the room with Addison.

"Good night Dad." Sloane told him softly. Samantha was surprised by Sloane calling Mark Dad and she wondered if it was a recent thing. The forehead kisses were endearing and Samantha wondered when that had started. Mark seemed to have embraced the father thing since Sloane had come into his life. Samantha knew that he was not married and she guessed that he had no other kids.

"Thank you for calling Mark." Samantha told him softly. Being with her daughter again was exactly what Samantha needed. After Mark had walked out on them, Samantha never thought that she'd hear from him again. Calling her took a lot of guts on Mark's part.

"Our daughter needed you. I was going to get you to come if I had to come get you myself." Mark told Samantha seriously before he walked out the door with Addison right behind him.

Once Addison and Mark had left, Samantha looked at her daughter. She hadn't seen her since Sloane was three months pregnant and now she was twenty two weeks pregnant. She was five and a half months pregnant already. She looked so young. Too young to have to deal with this.

"I can't keep him Mom." Sloane whispered as she ran her hand over her stomach. She knew that she was not ready for this. She knew that Mark, her dad would be upset, but she couldn't do it. She wanted her life back and she couldn't have it back if she was a mom.

"Yes you can. If me and your dad help you, you can do this." Samantha insisted. She didn't want her daughter to regret giving her son up for adoption. Samantha was afraid that if Sloane did regret it, she'd never get over it so she wanted her daughter to think very carefully about it before coming to any final decisions.

"No. I talked to Dr. Montgomery and she is going to set me up with an adoption agency." Sloane told her mother softly. Like her father, when Sloane got an idea into her head, it was nearly impossible to get it out of her head.

"If that's what you want Sloane, I can't stop you." Samantha told her.

"It's what's best for him. I'm not going home though. I want to stay here in LA even after the baby is born." Sloane told her mother. Samantha was surprised that Sloane wanted to stay in LA after the baby was born. She would expect Sloane to want to go home.

"Why baby?" Samantha asked her daughter curiously.

"I want to get to know my dad." Sloane admitted softly. Samantha sighed knowing that Mark did not live in LA. Samantha knew that Sloane knew it too. Maybe there was something Samantha didn't know.

"He doesn't live here though." Samantha pointed out gently.

"Maybe he'll move here. He was talking about the possibility." Sloane told her mother. Samantha was surprised that Mark wanted to move to LA. She had a feeling that it had to do with Sloane's doctor though.

"I look like him. Dad I mean." Sloane added, her voice softer now. She had never seen a picture of him but when she had first met him she had realized how alike they looked. As Sloane spent time with him, she realized how alike their personalities were as well.

"Yes, you do. You always did." Samantha admitted, her own voice soft as she looked into her daughter's blue-grey eyes that were carbon copies of her dad's eyes.

"Can I sleep now Mom?" Sloane asked as she felt her eyelids drooping. The pain meds were still making her sleepy.

"Yes go ahead. I'll be right here if you need anything." Samantha reassured her daughter. When Sloane finally fell asleep, Samantha closed her eyes and did the same.

Mark and Addison were at her house, in her bed, finally finished with their latest round of sex. Neither of them felt guilty. They were both single and this was to let off some steam. Their post coital conversation went back to the one they had been having at various points during the week. Mark was set to go back to Seattle in a few days so they really needed to figure this out. He wanted to stay here in LA and raise the baby with Addison. He wasn't sure how long Samantha was going to stay or if she was going to stay so he knew that the baby could have four parents or just three.

"I don't care what Sam says, this is ideal." Mark commented as he looked right at Addison.

"What did Sam say?" Addison demanded. Addison knew that Sam had been feeling jealous but she hadn't expected him to express that feeling to Mark.

"Nothing. Forget about Sam. This is ideal. Three parents, no one gets overwhelmed, everyone still gets to have a life." Mark pointed out. Of course if Samantha stayed the baby would have four parents, but he didn't want to voice the possibility of Samantha staying. Not when he wasn't sure if she would.

"Mark…"Addison told him hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she was ready to do this. Especially with Mark.

"This is our second chance, don't you see it?" Mark told her earnestly. He could see that this would be their second chance at a family. He hadn't even realized he wanted this until he was here in LA with her.

"What if there was no baby?" Addison asked. Sloane had wanted information on the adoption program that the practice had and Addison had felt that it was her duty as Sloane's doctor to give her that information.

"Why? What happened?" Mark demanded. He was trying not to show his panic, but he didn't want to think of Sloane losing her son.

"Nothing. Nothing happened. The baby's fine. It's just that... What if Sloane changed her mind or there wasn't a baby, would you still wanna move down here? Join the practice, be with me? Cause you keep asking and you paint a pretty picture. And I'm just lonely enough and I'm scared enough and I'm just freaked out enough that if you ask me again, I might say yes. So I'm asking you not to ask me again if it's not about me. If you're just heartbroken or in love with someone else or if you just want me to help you with a baby that you may or may not be able to raise, don't ask me. Cause I don't know anything. I don't know... anything anymore. Except, I can't fall in love with a man who's in love with someone else. That much I know, I can't do that again. So please, if you're in love with the Grey girl, go back to Seattle. But if you're not, I mean, if you're serious and you want me, then ask again." Addison delivered a very long speech to Mark that basically culminated into a plea for him to ask her again if he was really serious about this.

"Red, even if there was no baby I would want you. I want this. I want us. I was serious about Lexie, but if she had been the right girl for me she would have stood by me and the decisions I made regarding my daughter. I thought you had moved on, found someone else to love, but now that I am here with you, I know without a doubt in my mind that I want to move here and be with you." Mark told her seriously. If she wanted him to, he would call Richard in the morning and start work at the practice, the very next day.

"You want me?" Addison asked. She could still hardly believe it that Mark had picked her. He could have gone back to Seattle and gotten Lexie back, but he didn't want her. He wanted Addison despite her dried up old prune status.

"I want you. It's always been you Red." Mark reassured her.

"Kiss me." Addison whispered. She knew Sam would be insanely jealous, but Mark was the one for her no matter how long she attempted to deny it.

"Gladly." Mark told her before he pressed his lips to hers and tangled his hands in her copper red hair. This kiss was different than the others that they had shared tonight. It was a kiss that inspired hope in both of them. Hope that they could make it through whatever life threw their way. Hope that their love could stand all the trials and tribulations of life.


	4. Family

**A/N So I still really love this story but I am not sure where it's gonna go yet. I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

Family

Mark rolled over onto his side when he heard the alarm clock go off. It took him a moment to realize where he was as he struggled to awaken. When he looked over his shoulder he saw Addison's blue eyes slowly opening and a slow smile forming on her face as her eyes focused on him. Then everything came back to him including the fact that he had to let Richard know that he was not returning to Seattle. He hit the alarm clock twice before it finally shut off. Despite having to be up early and or short on sleep nearly every day, Mark was not a morning person.

"I'll be right back Addie. I have to call Richard." Mark told her before he grabbed his Blackberry and went downstairs to make the phone call. Addison sighed as she sat up in bed. She could not believe the things that had changed this week. Mark Sloan had actually picked her over his Little Grey or whatever the fuck he called Meredith's sister. Addison knew about the nickname thanks to Callie who had let it slip one of the times Addison had called Callie. Addison got out of bed and put a pair of sweatpants on and her old grey Columbia t-shirt that Mark had always said that she looked good in. She went down the stairs just in time to see Mark hang up his phone. Addison was smiling as he came towards her with a smile of his own.

"I'm free." Mark told her, still smiling. He was free from his contract at Seattle Grace-Mercy West and he was free to start work at her practice the next morning. Most importantly he was free to be with Addison. He pulled Addison's slim body into his arms and he kissed her deeply. He was really looking forward to starting this new life with Addison. He wasn't sure if Sloane and Samantha were going to stay here in LA, but he hoped that they would stay for a little while. He wanted to get to know his daughter better. God whenever he remembered he had a daughter as well as a grandson on the way he felt old. Addison had ways of making sure he didn't feel old and last night she had showed him some of those ways.

"What are today's plans?" Addison asked as soon as she had pulled away from Mark's lips. Addison had to be to work in an hour and she really didn't want Mark bored all day.

"Spending time at the hospital with Sloane and her mom." Mark replied. He wanted to see them as much as possible, especially if they were planning on going back to Las Vegas soon. Addison wasn't really surprised that Mark wanted to spend time with his daughter but she was surprised that he wanted to spend time with Samantha. After all they had not spoken in nineteen years. It didn't make sense to her why Mark wanted to spend time with her now.

"I thought it would just be Sloane there today after you got there?" Addison asked. She was definitely not jealous of Samantha Riley. She knew Mark had no intention of starting things up again with his daughter's mother, but Addison couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Mark looked at her and he could see the uneasiness on her face and he was surprised. He had not expected her be jealous of Samantha Riley. There was no reason to be jealous of her. Mark wanted Addison and Addison only. He had no intention of getting back together with Samantha.

"Addie are you actually jealous of a woman who I share a daughter with?" Mark asked as he kept his eyes locked onto her face.

"No of course not. I know you want me. After all you proved it last night." Addison teased him lightly. Mark was not at all convinced that Addison was okay but Mark knew that nothing was going to happen between him and Samantha. Addison would just have to trust him which could be difficult given his past inability to stay faithful.

"So are you going to tell the rest of the people at the practice that I am joining it?" Mark asked Addison. He knew that the subject had to be changed so he changed to see what Addison's plans for the day were other than work.

"Yes. When I first got here they operated on a voting system. I nixed that as soon as I was the boss." Addison told Mark. She had a feeling that Sam would not be happy that Addison had hired Mark. Charlotte on the other hand would be glad that someone had taken her advice. She had been suggesting a plastic surgeon for several months now and Addison had continued to ignore her. Thankfully Pete had moved to the fourth floor with Naomi because Addison knew that Mark did not believe in alternative medicine. Despite the fact that Pete's needles had helped Sloane sleep. Even that hadn't been enough to convince Mark that sometimes alternative medicine was better than western medicine.

"You think they'll be okay with it?" Mark asked as he grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee.

"They'll just have to be." Addison told him. Of course the they she was referring to was Sam. Addison had a feeling that Sam would be the only one who would not like the fact that Mark was joining the practice.

"Is something going on with you and Sam?" Mark asked curiously. He could read Addison's mind better than Derek ever could and he had a feeling that something had been budding between Addison and Sam before he and Sloane had come to LA.

"Not anymore." Addison told Mark quickly. She had made her decision last night and it wasn't Sam. She had picked Mark.

"But if I hadn't come…?"Mark trailed off, not quite sure what he wanted to say or ask Addison.

"Then it could have turned into something." Addison finished softly as she kept her blue eyes locked onto Mark's clean shaven face. Mark was surprised. He had never known that Sam felt like that for Addison and he certainly never knew that Addison felt like that for her best friend's husband.

"But I'm here now." Mark told her firmly. He was not going to let anyone else have her. That may have sounded a little harsh or selfish but he loved Addison and he wanted to be here with her and maybe take up surfing in his spare time.

"Yes, you are here now." Addison confirmed softly. She could hardly believe that Mark had picked her but she wasn't about to question that.

"I'm going to go shower now so I can go spend the day with my daughter." Mark told her. The old Mark would have suggested they shower together, but the new Mark wanted to take their second chance slowly. They didn't need to be having sex every single free moment. Besides they had had sex last night before this final decision was made and again after Mark had picked her. Addison was surprised that Mark didn't suggest that they shower together. Mark was different and she was not sure exactly when that had happened but she was almost positive that it had to do with his pregnant teenage daughter showing up out of the blue.

"Okay, go ahead." Addison told him instead of asking why he was so different. Mark kissed her lips quickly before he went upstairs to get that shower.

Thirty minutes and two quick kisses later Mark was in a rental car driving to the hospital. He realized as he was driving that he had to make arrangements for his stuff to be mailed to LA. He would talk to Callie about that later when he called her to tell her what he was doing. Right now he was planning on spending all day with his daughter, with or without Samantha. She could stay or she could leave Sloane's room. It made no difference to him. He hadn't talked to his daughter a lot before Lexie discovered that there was something wrong with the baby. After she had told Mark that there was something wrong with the baby then Mark and Sloane talked more. There was still a lot that he didn't know about his daughter and there was a lot that he wanted to know about her. He was looking forward to looking through all of Sloane's baby pictures and he was grateful that Samantha had brought them to him for him to look at.

When he got to the hospital, he went straight to the elevator and rode it up to the OB floor where his daughter was still recovering from the surgery she had just had yesterday morning. When the elevator opened at the third floor, Mark stepped off of the elevator and headed to Sloane's room. He pushed open the door and stepped into the room not sure of what he would find. He found Sloane picking at her breakfast and her mother talking to her and encouraging her to eat something.

"Hey." Mark greeted both women with a smile as he closed the door behind him and settled down on the other chair that Samantha was not occupying.

"Dad, tell Mom that I don't have to eat this shit." Sloane asked Mark as she pointed at the unrecognizable thing on her breakfast tray. Mark couldn't believe that Sloane was already pitting one parent against the other less than twenty four hours after her parents had reunited for the first time in nineteen years. He also knew that he couldn't object to her language because he didn't have the right.

"You have to eat baby." Samantha insisted. She knew that her grandson needed his mother to eat and that was what Samantha was attempting to make her do.

"I will Mom. Just not this crap." Sloane insisted stubbornly. Mark had been a patient in the hospital recently after Lexie had broken him so he knew how bad hospital food was and he did not want his daughter eating that garbage.

"I'll go get her something else." Mark promised. Sloane smiled when her dad said that he would go get her something else. Some people may have called her manipulative or narcissistic or vapid but she really wasn't that bad. She just knew how to push her dad's guilty buttons and she knew that he had a lot of guilt for leaving her mother and not wanting her all of those years ago. Plus she had a feeling that her dad had been just as narcissistic as she was when he was eighteen.

"A blueberry scone maybe?" Sloane asked as she looked at her dad. She had no way of knowing that blueberry scones were her dad's favorite. They had eaten cold cereal every morning at her dad's apartment in Seattle. Mark was surprised when she asked for a blueberry scone. He had had no idea that he and his daughter shared a favorite breakfast food.

"I could definitely get you a blueberry scone." Mark told his daughter. Samantha had forgotten until now that blueberry scones had been Mark's favorite as well. There was another similarity between father and daughter.

"I am going to go apartment hunting today." Samantha told Mark. She and Sloane had a discussion about it this morning and they had decided that they would be living here at least for awhile. She didn't know that Mark's plans had become concrete and he figured that he ought to tell them what was going on.

"So you two are going to stay for awhile?" Mark asked. He was happy that they were staying so he could spend more time with his daughter.

"Yes for as long as you are staying." Samantha told Mark. Sloane had told her mother that she wanted to stay and get to know her father.

"Well as of last night I have decided to move here permanently." Mark told both women. Sloane couldn't help but let a smirk pass her lips when she hard her dad's announcement. It was the female version of the infamous Sloan smirk that her dad had used so often.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with my doctor would it?" Sloane asked innocently. Mark could not believe how perceptive his daughter was. Actually yes he could. He was a very perceptive man himself and it seemed as though she had inherited that from him.

"She asked me to stay here in LA and I said yes." Mark confirmed with a nod towards his daughter.

"Well at least it's better than having a future stepmother only six years older than me." Sloane commented with a wrinkle of her nose. That had always given her creeps despite the fact that she had never let it be known. To her it was weird to know that her dad's future girlfriend was only six when she was born.

"Wait I'm not marrying her Sloane." Mark told her rather hastily. Of course someday he could picture him and Addison getting married but they were no where near ready for that yet. He hadn't known that Sloane felt weird about Lexie being only six years older than her. He should have known because Lexie had felt weird about Sloane being so close to her own age.

"Not yet." Sloane told her dad. She had no doubt that her dad and her doctor would be walking down the aisle someday soon. Mark figured that it was best to ignore her when she talked like this and that was exactly what he did. He didn't want to talk to Sloane about his new relationship with Addison. As Addison had told him in Seattle, talking about sex was not the best way to bond with your children. So Mark would have to work today on bonding a little better with his daughter.

"I am going to go pick your blueberry scone up." Mark told his daughter as he stood up from the chair, his ass already feeling numb. He turned to look at Samantha who had stayed silent throughout the whole revelation about Mark moving here to LA to be with Addison. He was surprised that Samantha hadn't said a thing.

"Do you want anything Sam?" Mark offered as he studied the mother of his daughter rather closely.

"No thank you Mark. Thanks for the offer though." Samantha told him politely. Mark left Sloane's room to go get his daughter the blueberry scone that she had requested. He tried to put Samantha's sudden silence out of his mind because it wasn't his business to wonder why she had gone so quiet.

When Mark returned with Sloane's blueberry scone and a bottle of juice less than thirty minutes later, he was met with silence. Neither woman was speaking to each other which surprised Mark. He couldn't help but wonder if Sloane had said something to her mother. She did seem to be very blunt with her words much like Mark himself was. Neither woman appeared to be crying which was a good thing. Mark knew how to comfort his daughter when she cried but he was out of practice with crying women who were not his daughter. He put Sloane's blueberry scone on her tray and produced the bottle of juice which actually happened to be orange. He knew that both Sloane and the baby needed the vitamins that orange juice provided. Without so much as a thank you, Sloane devoured the blueberry scone, nearly choking in the process. While Sloane was eating, Samantha stood up. She needed to get out of there as soon as she possibly could. If she spent one more time with her daughter and Mark she was going to scream. Mark had turned into a very attentive father and Samantha couldn't help but wish he had been that when Sloane was on the way. Instead he had been a dickhead to her and he had left her pregnant and alone. Why was Sloane so desperate to have a relationship with a man who had abandoned her before she was even born. Samantha wished that she had an answer to that question. Sloane had never been shy about asking about her father even from a very young age. Samantha had always suspected that as soon as she could, Sloane was going to go find him. Kicking her out had given Sloane the chance to go find her father.

"Bye Sam." Mark told Samantha as he watched his daughter eat the food that he had brought for her. He was glad that she was finally eating. When Samantha walked out of Sloane's room without a word to her daughter, Mark knew something was up. He wasn't entirely sure that it was his place to ask what was going on. As if his daughter could read his mind, she swallowed a bite of scone and then she spoke,

"Mom wants me to hate you for leaving us."

Mark was startled when Sloane spoke but he had to admit that Samantha had valid reasons for her not wanting Sloane to like her father.

"She's mad that I want to know you." Sloane added. Mark sighed a heavy sigh. He wanted to know his daughter. He knew that she may never understand the choices he made before she was born but he wanted to have a relationship with her now that he was in a much better place than he was nineteen years ago. He was much better father material now.

"What do you want?" Mark asked as he studied his daughter carefully.

"I know it's too late for you to play the daddy I needed so many times in the past eighteen years, but I want to know you." Sloane told her father honestly. She chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for Mark to respond. Mark noticed that Sloane had the same habit that Samantha had when she was nervous and that was good. Maybe Sloane wasn't pure him.

"You are my daughter and I want to know you too." Mark finally told her. He knew that Samantha would not be all that happy but Sloane was eighteen and she could make her own decisions about who she wanted to know. For some reason she wanted to know her dad even after he had left her mother all of those years ago.

"Why did you leave Mom?" Sloane asked. Mark sighed when he heard her question. He knew that it was a question that she deserved answers to but Mark was also sure that Samantha had told Sloane already so he was hesitant to say anything.

"Mom told me everything. I just want to hear your side." Sloane told her dad quietly.

"I wasn't ready when your mom told me she was pregnant. I was a college student and I was in no way ready to start a family. I didn't want to be a shitty father like mine was and I thought you deserved better than to be stuck with me for a father." Mark explained. Fear and the reluctance to start a family at his age had fueled the decision that he had made. He had felt that he was not ready to give a child all they deserved and all that he was denied as a child.

"Mom said that your parents really fucked you up." Sloane told him. Mark chuckled when Sloane spoke. Samantha may never have met his parents but she knew how messed up he was because his parents had never given a damn about him.

"Well they weren't really there for me. You had it better. At least you had one parent there." Mark commented.

"But I wanted you and Mom to be there." Sloane admitted softly. She was finally admitting that she had wanted a father in her life. Not just any father. Her father.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there Sloane." Mark told her. He was sorry. He really wished he had stepped up and been there for both Samantha and Sloane. Life would have been so different if he had been in Sloane's life from the beginning.

"My birthday wish when I was little was that my daddy would come." Sloane whispered. When Mark heard that, he only felt more guilt and he really wished that he could turn around and make a different choice, despite the fact that he really had not been ready to be a father.

"I stopped wishing for you when I was ten and Mom told me that you didn't want me." Sloane admitted. She remembered being ten and her mother saying that her daddy never wanted her and he was never going to come for her birthday. Mark hated to imagine that look on her face. That look that he had worn often enough as a kid. He knew the feeling of not being loved better than anyone else and he hated that. He hated that his daughter had been told that daddy hadn't wanted her. No kid should ever feel that.

"I'd like to make up to you from now on." Mark told her quietly. Sloane nodded slowly, knowing that she had a right to know her father and her mother could not take that away from her.

"I told Mom that I can't keep the baby." Sloane told her dad as she ran a hand over her stomach and bit her lip as she waited for her dad to respond. She knew that he had wanted to raise the baby with her and she hated to hurt him like this. She just knew that she was not ready and that a baby deserved a stable loving family and Sloane could not give that to him.

"Oh, what did she say?" Mark responded. He was heartbroken right now because of Sloane's news. He didn't want his grandson to be raised by strangers and he really wished that Sloane would change her mind. Mark had a feeling that Sloane was just as stubborn as he was though so the chance of her changing her mind was probably pretty slim.

"She is insistent that I can do it with her help and with yours." Sloane admitted. Mark wanted to believe that there was still hope but he doubted that Sloane would still keep her son. Even if she had parental support.

"But I want my life back Dad. I don't want to be a mom at eighteen. I want to graduate high school and I want to have college as an option." Sloane told Mark seriously. She was a smart woman. After all both of her parents had gone to Columbia. Samantha only for a little while and Mark for four years plus med school.

"You have to make decisions that you can live with Sloane. Your mother's right, if you wanted to keep him, your mother and I could help you." Mark told his daughter. He could tell that she was genuinely torn and Mark hated to see that. She was his daughter and he had missed out on so much when she was little. Now that she needed reassurance Mark wanted to make sure that she had it. Sloane was going to make sure that she did not cry as she ran her hands over her stomach.

"I have some thinking to do I guess." Sloane murmured as she kept running her hand over her stomach. Mark watched his daughter touch her stomach and he imagined Samantha doing much the same thing nineteen years ago.

"You can feel him if you want to." Sloane offered. Mark looked at his daughter, surprised that she was allowing him to touch her stomach. He thought that was awfully personal. Mark was sure that it would be weird, but he wasn't about to decline her offer. He brushed his hand over her stomach and when he felt a kick, he smiled at Sloane. His grandson was kicking his hand. It felt so strange to him, but strange in a very good way.

"Thank you Sloane." Mark told her softly. Feeling his grandson's kick meant more to him than Mark had ever expected that it would. If she had never shown up in Seattle then Mark would never have gotten this chance.

"Mom was mad at you for a very long time…but I don't think I ever was." Sloane told Mark, going back to their previous discussion.

"Well I didn't step up when your mom needed me and I should have." Mark told Sloane seriously. He would never admit that for the first four years, he had thought of Samantha on the anniversary of the she had told him that she was pregnant. He figured that there were certain things that he really could keep to himself and that admission was one of those things.

"Did you ever wonder what it could have been like if you had stepped up and been there for Mom and me?" Sloane asked curiously.

"I wasn't sure if your mom was going to have you so no I never really wondered what it would have been like if I was around." Mark told her honestly. After she had showed up in Seattle Mark definitely had wondered what it would have been like if he had been in Sloane's life.

"What about when I showed up in Seattle?" Sloane asked as she searched her father's face. She knew he had been surprised by her exsistance, but she didn't know where his thoughts were after she had come to Seattle. After all they barely spoke to each other during the first six weeks.

"Yes, when you showed up in Seattle, I definitely started to wonder what it would have been like if I had been around when you were little." Mark confirmed with a nod in his daughter's direction.

"Do you mind if I got to sleep now Dad?" Sloane asked. She really wasn't liking these questions anymore though she really wanted the answers to them. Maybe she would be more ready for them when she got out of the hospital.

"Not at all. Get some rest. I'll be right here while you sleep." Mark told his daughter calmly. He knew that she was still pretty tired from yesterday's surgery. Plus he wanted to do some thinking about the things that they had talked about. Sloane nodded and before Mark could respond to her nod, she had fallen asleep with one hand tucked under her chin and the other hand resting on her stomach. Mark noticed how peaceful she looked and Mark was really glad to see that she was relaxed and not scared like she had been right before the surgery.

As soon as Mark was sure that she was asleep, he opened her nightstand drawer and found a ton of pictures scattered all over. Mark was sure that these were some of the ones that Samantha had brought for him to see. He picked up the first stack and he quickly realized that these pictures were of Sloane when she was just a baby. He found the first one which he guessed must have been taken shortly after she was born. Even then her hair was very blond and Mark guessed that she had been born with his eyes because she already had the slate colored eyes even at a few hours old. Samantha looked beautiful despite her hair being all over the place. Then there was a picture of the card that accompanied the hospital bassinet. Mark could make out the words jus fine.

_Sloane Mackenzie Riley_

_Mother: Samantha Riley_

_Father: Mark Sloan_

_Weight: 6lbs,5oz_

_Height:20in_

So Samantha had never denied that he was the father. It was even on the card and Mark was sure that it was likely on Sloane's birth certificate as well. He was glad that he was still getting the chance to be a father. He was glad that Sloane wanted him in her life. He knew that he had no right to it, but he was glad that she wanted to know him. Mark sat back in the very uncomfortable chair and continued to look through the pictures of his daughter when she was just born.

* * *

Meanwhile Addison had a meeting to call. Usually they didn't do morning meetings that much anymore unless someone had something important to discuss and she did have something to tell them. It was not up for discussion though she knew that Sam would not be a happy man. She figured that Sam needed to deal with it. She had made a decision to bring more clients to the practice and having a plastic surgeon definitely would do that. It would probably even bring upscale clients into the building and Addison was hoping that they could keep competing with Pacific Wellcare.

She was sitting in the meeting room as Sam, Charlotte, Cooper and Violet came into the room. Sam could already tell that he was not going to like what Addison had to tell him. He just hoped that it had nothing to do with a cocky and arrogant plastic surgeon that Addison had spent the week screwing. Addison didn't feel the need to stand up to deliver her news so she simply spoke.

"I have hired a new doctor to join the practice."

Sam's face turned stony in an instant. He knew exactly who Addison was talking about and he was not a happy man right now. He was pretty angry actually. Addison had no right to make decisions about the practice without talking to him first.

"What's their specialty?" Cooper asked. Violet only looked vaguely curious and Charlotte was almost sure she knew who Addison was talking about.

"Plastic surgery." Addison replied. Charlotte was smiling. She loved being right and she was looking forward to the pissing match she was sure Sam was thinking about starting.

"Well that would bring the quality of our patients up." Cooper pointed out.

"That isn't a veiled reference to my hooker patients a year ago is it?" Addison asked with a raised shook his head immediately not wanting Addison to think that he was insulting her.

"He can't join the practice Addison. He'll screw around for a bit and then he'll go back to Seattle." Sam told her. Addison was not happy with the fact that Sam was questioning Mark's commitment to his job. That had been the only thing that he was committed to for as long as Addison could remember

"As a matter of fact, I asked him to stay here." Addison told the group in a hurry to shut Sam up.

"Why?" Sam demanded. It made no sense to him why Addison would want to go through the pain that Mark had put her through before, all over again.

"Because she's in love with him you moron." Charlotte barked impatiently. Okay take back her elation at seeing a pissing match between Sam and Mark. Sam was being obnoxious and Charlotte wanted him to just shut up. Addison blushed a deep red which she was not happy about. She was not expecting Charlotte to blurt out something like that. How the heck did Charlotte King know that Addison loved Mark? Addison hated blushing at work and it was Charlotte who had made it happen with her outburst.

"Any other legitimate objections?" Addison asked, not looking at Sam. She did not want to heat his objections to her hiring Mark. When no one responded, Addison smiled, relieved that no one had any genuine objections to Mark joining the practice.

"When does he start?" Cooper asked interestedly. Violet still hadn't spoken a word and right now she was currently pulling a string off her shirt hem.

"Tomorrow." Addison told Cooper. No one else seemed to have any questions so Addison let them go back to work and she headed back to her office. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her into his office before she could reach her own. He was not going to let Addison do this to herself if he could help it.

"Addison you can't hire him. He's a dog who only cares about himself. What did I tell you the day his daughter had surgery?" Was the first thing out of Sam's mouth.

"You said what you believed and I choose to believe differently." Addison told him. She was done talking about this and she really wished that Sam would just let everything go. Addison had seen him with his daughter and she knew that Mark was a different man than he had been in New York. Sam sighed, seeing that her mind was made up and he doubted that he could change it. Addison nodded at Sam as a thank you for letting it drop. Addison had a feeling that Sam would not let it go entirely, but right now she choose not to let it bother her. She simply left his office and returned to her own.

* * *

Mark was in the fourth stack of pictures that Samantha had brought and from what he could tell Sloane was about four years old in them. Mark had to admit that she was a beautiful child and she had grown into a beautiful woman. She had such a smile even at four years old. His back was to the room door and he was so engrossed in the pictures that he didn't even hear the door close behind him.

"That was her first day of kindergarten." Came Samantha's voice from behind him as she pointed to the picture that he had just flipped to. Mark turned and looked at Samantha, hoping that now they could have their own discussion while Sloane was still asleep.

"We need to talk Sam." Mark told his ex girlfriend quietly. He had all of these questions that he wanted answers too. Sloane had gotten some of her questions answered by him and now it was his turn to get some of his answered by her mother.


	5. Home

A/N I am so sorry for the long wait. My Maddison muse completely disappeared on me.

Home

Mark spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Samantha while Sloane got some much deserved rest. Finally Samantha answered some of his questions. Without waking Sloane, he left the hospital. He was hoping that Slone wouldn't be too upset at him for leaving without waking her. As soon as he got out of the hospital, he turned his Blackberry on and was startled to see seven missed calls. Three from Callie and four from Derek. Mark guessed that Richard had broken the news that he was not returning to Seattle. He had five voicemails as well. Three from Derek and two from Callie.

Mark knew listening to the voicemails was not going to be easy on him, but he knew that he had made the right decision for himself. He wanted to be with Addison and he was finally going to be able to be with her.

_"Mark you get your ass back here right now. I need you to be here to keep me from going fucking insane. Arizona doesn't want kids and I don't know if I can give that up even for love...So stop the fucking midlife crisis and dump the ungrateful vapid preggo and get your ass back here right now."_ Callie bellowed into the phone. Mark could tell that she was upset, but even so, Mark didn't take kindly to the insults shot at his daughter. Sloane was a lot like he was at her age, which now that he thought about it, scared him. He decided not to listen to the other one left by Callie. Instead he turned to Derek's messages.

_"Mark? What the hell is going on? You take Sloane to LA and suddenly you resign from Seattle Grace? Are you moving to LA or something? Damn you, answer your phone. Does this sudden move have anything to do with a certain redhead? You know what, I am sure it does. I was blind and I never saw how much you actually loved her…Tell me she's happy. Tell me that you are going to do everything in your power to keep her happy. She deserves it and so do you. Lexie wasn't your happy ending…Addie is."_ Mark couldn't believe everything Derek had just said. It sounded like Derek was giving Mark, his blessing to be with Addison. Mark listened to the next message.

_"Be happy with her. Both Meredith and Lexie would murder me if they heard me say this, but Addison's your lobster. Stupid analogy I know, but it's the truth. Call me Mark. Great now I am sounding like a desperate woman. I don't want you to forget me while you are surfing and building a new life by the beach. This better not be an elaborate midlife crisis where you dump Addie in a year. If that happens, I'll hunt you down and cut off your balls."_

Mark was surprised how different the messages were. Callie was pissed at him for leaving and Derek wanted him to be happy with Addison. Derek had even used the stupid lobster analogy that Addison had fell in love with after watching an episode of Friends. Callie clearly didn't realize why Mark was staying in LA. Derek had always known him best. He didn't see the need to listen to the other messages. He was going to go home…or back to Addison's anyway. He wasn't sure he could call that home just yet.

Addison had arrived home before Mark and she had changed into the Columbia T shirt that Mark had worn to bed last night and a pair of sweatpants. Today had been a day of clearing out an office for Mark to use when he started in the morning and avoiding Sam's glares. Addison wished that Sam could be an adult about this whole thing. She was now sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine and two wineglasses while Milo purred next to her. Addison suddenly remembered that Mark had an allergy to cats. Milo had been staying at Pete's while Mark and Sloane stayed with her because of Mark's allergy. She had come home to find Milo sitting on her bed. Addison had to do something to get rid of Milo. She checked her watch and realized that Mark would probably be home soon.

She took the cat next door and dropped it on Sam's doorstep. Sure Sam had asthma, but animal hair never aggravated it. Sam wasn't home. Addison had no clue where he was and she really didn't need to know. Addison did a flash vacuuming job hoping to pick up all of Milo's hair before Mark got home. She had just settled back inside her house when Mark walked in.

"Hey babe." Mark told her as he put his jacket on the armchair and sat down beside her. Addison smiled at him and kissed him lightly.

"How's Sloane?" Addison asked. A part of her STILL couldn't believe that Mark had a daughter and a grandson on the way.

"Still tired, but she's healing. They're moving here." Mark told Addison sort of abruptly. Addison was stunned to hear the news. She had expected them to return to wherever the hell they came from and keep in contact with Mark through emails and infrequent phone calls.

"When was this decided?" Addison asked curiously. Mark smiled as he poured himself a glass of wine. He was glad that his daughter was moving to LA. He felt as though this was his chance to get to know her the way he should have done when she was little.

"After I told them I was staying. Sloane says she wants to get to know me." Mark explained to Addison. Mark was still surprised that his daughter wanted to have a relationship after he had abandoned her and her mother when Sloane was still an embryo, but he wasn't going to be stupid enough to question it. Addison wanted Mark to have a relationship with his daughter, but that didn't mean that Addison wanted to sacrifice her time with Mark. Now she sounded selfish and she felt guilty. She knew that Mark wanted a relationship with his daughter. She knew that would make Mark happy and that was all that should have mattered to her.

"And the baby?" Addison asked as she rested her hand on Mark's knee. She had discussed options with Sloane but she was not sure what Sloane was going to do. Mark sighed, knowing that his daughter was going to be giving up the baby for adoption. Addison put her arms around him, recognizing that sigh. She knew what Sloane must have told him she was going to do.

"We could adopt him." Mark suggested as he looked up at his girlfriend. He wasn't sure that she'd agree, but he had to try. This baby was his chance to make things right.

"Mark you know we can't. We just got back together and at least for right now I want it to be all about us. Just us being alone together without shame or guilt." Addison told Mark gently. She hated saying no but really this was not the best time to adopt a child. Even though Addison desperately wanted a child and she knew how much Mark wanted a baby. They needed time together without the responsibility of a baby. Mark's slate colored eyes dropped and he stared into the wineglass. He was upset knowing that his grandson was going to be adopted by strangers and that he'd never see the newest Sloan again. Addison could tell he was upset and she hated it. She hated upsetting him when they were just starting their relationship over again but Addison had to stick to her guns so to speak. She knew this wasn't the right time even if Mark didn't realize it.

"I'm sorry Mark." Addison whispered.

"Don't be Addie. You told me how you felt. I can't fault you for that." Mark reassured her as he put his hand over hers and squeezed it.

"But you really want this baby." Addison pointed out.

"I want you more than I want any baby. I can't ask a baby to be my redemption for my mistakes." Mark told her quietly. The idea of losing his grandson to strangers was gut wrenching, but what he had told Addison was true. He wanted to be with her more than he wanted any baby.

"We'll find him a good home." Addison told him. Mark looked at her surprised. He had no idea that Addison wanted to help Sloane find a good home for the baby. Mark had assumed that it would be just Sloane, Samantha and himself working on that.

"You want to help?" Mark asked.

"Of course I do." Addison told him. She desperately wanted to just drop this subject but she wasn't going to rush it. There would be time to talk about them and their future together. Addison decided to let Mark have this night to mourn what he couldn't have.

"She reminds me a little too much of me when I was her age." Mark commented. Addison laughed, knowing that she hadn't been imagining it. She hadn't met Mark until they were a few years older than Sloane was now, but Addison could still see the personality resemblance.

"I think she's a good kid Mark." Addison told him, repeating what she had told Sloane in Seattle.

"So do I." Mark agreed as he put the wineglass to his lips and took a sip. Sloane was a good kid. Okay so she was a little vapid and narcissistic and manipulative, but Mark hoped that she'd outgrow that. He knew he had outgrown it for the most part.

"What is she going to do after the baby's born?" Addison asked. She hoped that Sloane was going to go back to school or at least take the GED to get out of high school. Addison had had minimal contact with Samantha, but Sloane's father was intelligent so Addison guessed Sloane had at least inherited some of Mark's intelligence.

"She hasn't really made a decision yet." Mark told her. Mark wanted his daughter to get an education, but he understood that at 18,Sloane had to make her own decisions about this. He was going to have to let her make her own decision without any influence from him.

"Well she should give herself some time to decide. She should deal with one big decision at a time." Addison commented softly. Making multiple decisions at once may have seemed like a good idea, but Addison knew that was not the case. To go slowly and take it one decision at a time was the best thing for Sloane. Mark suspected that Addison was probably right, but that didn't stop him from wanting to know now. Patience had never been Mark's strong point and he knew that everyone else knew that very well.

"How was it with Samantha today?" Addison asked. She knew that Mark had spent some time with Samantha and she was trying to act as if that didn't bother her. Of course it did. Mark and Samantha had a daughter together. The last thing Addison wanted was to lose Mark to his daughter's mother.

"Awkward." Mark admitted. It was really weird with Samantha. Maybe it was the simple fact that they hadn't seen each other in nineteen years but every time Mark and Samantha were in a room together it was awkward. Even though he had gotten to know all about Sloane's life, the whole day with Samantha had felt awkward. He didn't know if Samantha had felt it too but he suspected it would be really hard for her not to feel the awkwardness.

"I'm sorry." Addison told him. She wasn't sure what else to say in a situation like this. Sorry didn't seem adequate enough and yet she was at a loss for what to say. Addison knew that Mark hated awkward situations and that he tired to avoid them as much as humanly possible.

"Don't apologize Red. How did the practice take the news of you hiring me?" Mark asked. He wanted to hear about Addison's day. His day had been full of stories and awkwardness.

"Well Sam wants you dead. He doesn't want you anywhere near the practice." Addison told Mark with a sigh. She knew Sam had a thing for her but she didn't care anymore. Mark had come to LA and with him a slew of old feelings had returned to the forefront of Addison's heart.

"But it's not completely up to Sam." Mark pointed out. Addison nodded and smiled at him. Mark was right. Sam couldn't prevent her from hiring a qualified person to join the staff.

"No it's not. No one else seems to care that I hired you." Addison told Mark. Mark smiled, relieved that he'd only have to deal with one person being angry that he joined the practice.

"Good." Mark told her. Addison was happy that Mark was here. She knew she'd be taking a lot of flack from her colleagues, particularly the ones who knew Mark and honestly Addison didn't care. She had never been able to get Mark out of her heart.

"Now let's go upstairs." Addison told him. She had waited all day for Mark to touch her and kiss her and she didn't want to wait much longer.

"Am I being propositioned Red?" Mark asked with his trademark smirk crossing his face. He needed her as much as she needed him. He needed to touch her, to be inside of her and he needed that now.

"Yes." Addison told him bluntly. She got off of the couch and made her way to the staircase. Before she could reach the staircase, Mark had her in his arms and he was kissing her neck as his hands worked to unbutton her blouse. Addison was desperately unbuckling his pants, trying to hurry so their needs could be satisfied. Clothes littered the staircase as they made their way to Addison's bedroom which was now also Mark's bedroom. Finally they came together as one. Frantic kisses and desperate touches were followed by soft kisses and gentle touches. It wasn't long after they were finished, that they fell asleep, each of them tired from a long day. Addison was wrapped in Mark's arms and for the first time in a long time she felt safe and loved. Mark fell asleep and for the first time he felt like he could actually sleep well.


	6. Threats

**A/N No excuses except that my muse went away and refused to return.**

Threats

It was several weeks later and everyone was settling in their news lives. Mark was working at St. Ambrose when serious cases came in usually as a result of a house fire. He hadn't developed much of a clientele at the practice yet, but Addison assured him that his clientele would grow very soon. Addison was adjusting to having a guy living in her house full time. It wasn't easy making that adjustment but it was worth the work. The hardest thing for her was making Milo an outdoor cat. She had made a promise to a dying patient and now because of her boyfriend's allergies, she had to keep Milo outdoors. She knew outdoors was not the best environment for cats even if it was their natural habitat. The city outdoors was filled with too many distractions and hazards for Milo. None of which existed in the wild.

As for Sloane and Samantha, they had settled on an house that was about twenty minutes from Addison's beach house. Sloane was working on getting her license renewed here in California and Samantha was scouring the area for work.

It was a late Friday evening and Mark and Addison were on the couch watching a movie together. It was their favorite way to wind down after a long day at work. Mark's cell phone went off and ordinarily Mark would ignore it but he hadn't spoken to his daughter all day and he was hoping that she was on the other line. Addison paused the movie as Mark hit the talk button on his cell phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mark, Sloane's not feeling well and she'd really like to see you." Came Samantha's voice.

"Let her rest, I'll see her in the morning." Mark told Samantha. He wasn't entirely convinced that Samantha was telling him the truth but he wasn't about to voice that aloud.

"Mark, please just come over. I'm worried about her." Samantha told him. Mark knew that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Sloane and he hadn't seen her before because he wanted to spend time with Addison.

"Fine. Give me a half an hour and I'll be there." Mark promised. He hung up the phone and turned to Addison with an apologetic smile. He really hated to leave her. He enjoyed these nights with her.

"Sorry Red, but Sloane's asking for me. I have to go." Mark told her. He knew that Addison was trying to adjust to him having a daughter and he knew that was a hard adjustment for her. She wasn't used to sharing him with his child.

"Be careful." Addison told him. She didn't trust Samantha Riley as far as she could throw. She doubted very much that Sloane was actually asking for Mark. She knew she could tell him that but that he would likely tell her she was worrying for no reason.

"There's no reason to tell me that Addie. Sloane's a good kid." Mark told her.

"Yeah but her mother is a fruitcake." Addison commented darkly. Mark laughed and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before he headed to the bedroom to change. Yes Samantha was a bit nuts but Mark wasn't quite sure he would give her the title of fruitcake just yet. Now Addison's mother, holy hell that woman was a fruitcake. When he emerged from the bedroom, he smiled at Addison who had switched off the movie and was settling on a marathon of FRIENDS.

"Don't be too long." Addison told him. She still had plans for their night together and they did not involve Mark visiting his adult daughter.

"I won't be." Mark told her before he kissed her again. He enjoyed kissing Addison and he now wished that he had told Samantha that he couldn't make it tonight. He privately would have rather be spending the rest of the evening pleasuring Addison in ways that she had only dreamed about.

As Mark drove in the direction of Samantha and Sloane's new place, he found himself thinking about what Addison was doing. He wanted to be with her right now and instead he was driving to see his daughter at ten pm. He knew that Lexie would never have understood this. She would have complained quite loudly about it. Yet Addison let him go without much complaint. Addison was much more mature than Lexie and Addison understood that sometimes Sloane would have to come first.

Twenty minutes later, Mark was standing in front of the door waiting for someone to answer his knock. He was surprised when Samantha answered the door wearing nothing but a T-shirt. She knew he was coming and she hadn't changed to make herself more presentable? Mark was beginning to grow suspicious. Maybe Addison had a point. Maybe Samantha's intentions were less sincere than he had thought.

"Come in." Samantha told Mark. Cautiously Mark stepped into the apartment. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but this was certainly not it. Samantha and Sloane had decided to go for a more art-deco-y kind of feel.

"Where's Sloane?" Mark asked as soon as he got over the décor.

"She felt better so she headed off to the movies with a few of her new friends." Samantha informed him calmly. She knew Mark would be furious but she was hoping that he would get over it quickly and they could get on with the real reason for him coming over tonight.

"Wait, you told me she wasn't feeling well and had asked to see me? No way does anyone get better that quickly. You lied to me." Mark accused. He was furious with her. Addison was right. Samantha was a fruitcake. A vindictive, manipulative fruitcake. Maybe Sloane hadn't got most of her initial vindictiveness and manipulation strategies from him. Samantha angled herself so that she could lock the front door without Mark trying to stop her. She was sick of other people getting what she wanted and what she deserved.

Somehow she managed to lock the door without Mark noticing. He was still looking like he was going to lose it. Samantha was going to do whatever she had to do in order to get him to see that life with her and Sloane was where he should be.

"Calm down Mark. It's not good for you or your heart to get so upset." Samantha told him as she laid her hand on his chest. Mark pushed it away at once, his slate colored eyes darkening with anger.

"We're done here Samantha. I'm done." Mark told her as he walked towards the door and tried to turn the knob. The knob wouldn't turn at first, Mark tried again and this time the knob broke clean off.

"Well I guess you are stuck here until someone comes to find you." Samantha commented from behind with a sickly sweet smile crossing her lips. Mark did a double take when he saw what was in her hand. It was a syringe filled with liquid. He swallowed hard, his slate colored eyes focused on her hand.

"How did you get that?" Mark asked, doing his best to keep his tone even and relaxed.

"You'd be amazed how easy it is to buy this stuff over the internet." Samantha told him calmly.

"What do you want?" Mark asked. He was pretty sure he knew what she wanted, but he was just hoping he was wrong.

"I want you and Sloane and myself to be a family." Samantha informed him. Dammit, Mark's suspicions had been correct. He wasn't giving in to her demands. He loved Addison too much. Seeing that syringe in her hands did make him a bit nervous though.

"I'm seeing someone." Mark reminded her. If Samantha went after Addison Mark could pretty much guarantee that Sloane would be a motherless young woman.

"Yeah but with Sloane and I, we make you a family." Samantha pointed out.

"I have already said that we are done. I want Addison. She's it for me." Mark told Samantha, still staying remarkably calm.

"When she's dead, you won't have her." Samantha informed Mark rather calmly. Mark paled, recognizing that Samantha had just threatened the woman that he loved. For the first time, Mark was scared of Samantha. He was scared for Addison. He had to get to her. He had to keep her safe.

"If you kill her, you'll leave your daughter…our daughter motherless." Mark told her.

"No if I kill her, my daughter gets a real family for the first time in her life." Samantha countered coolly.

Meanwhile, Addison was on her third episode of FRIENDS and she was trying to shake the feeling that something was wrong. Mark had been gone for over an hour and a half. Okay so it was forty minutes round trip from their place to Samantha and Sloane's place and that only left Mark a little less than an hour to visit with Sloane. Addison just couldn't kick the feeling that something was wrong.

She was trying to get through the episode where Ross has to give up his monkey, but her mind was still on Mark. Something just didn't feel right. What if there was an accident? It was late at night and there were always morons on the road at this time of night. Oh God, what if Samantha had gone all Fatal Attraction on Mark? Addison's stomach was in knots now.

Her hands were trembling as she dialed Naomi's number. She needed Naomi's reassurance that everything was fine and that Mark would be back soon.

"Addie, what's wrong?" a groggy voice asked into the phone.

"Mark went over to Samantha's over ninety minutes ago and he's not home yet." Addison told Naomi.

"If he's cheating on you, I'll kill him." Was Naomi's first response. She doubted that Mark was cheating on Addison but given his history she would be a fool if she didn't even consider that possibility.

"He's not. Samantha said that Sloane wanted to see him." Addison told Naomi.

"At ten o-clock at night?" came Naomi's skeptical response.

"I tried to warn him." Addison whispered. She had known that Samantha was planning something but Mark wouldn't hear her. She just knew things weren't right and sitting alone at home was hard on her. She needed to go find him. She needed to know that he was all right.

"Do you know her address?" Naomi asked. She could tell that Addison was panicking and she was worried about Addison.

"I'll text it to you." Addison told Naomi.

"Good, be ready in ten minutes. I 'm going to come yet you and we will head over there together." Naomi told Addison. Addison sighed a big sigh of relief. Naomi didn't think she was crazy.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Addison whispered. She didn't think that Samantha had it in her to be a killer but she wasn't sure.

"He's a big guy and Samantha would have to drug him in order to overpower him." Naomi pointed out. When Addison heard that, her stomach lurched again. God she hoped he was okay. She needed him. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone before. Just the thought of Samantha drugging him, made her want to pass out.

"Addison, calm down. He's all right." Naomi ordered her sternly. She didn't like the silence on the other end. She had to stay positive and upbeat because Addison certainly wasn't. She had to believe that Mark would be all right. Addison and Mark deserved their happy ending and Naomi was going to make sure that they got it.

"Okay." Came a faint whisper. Addison was doubled over on the floor trying desperately not to throw up.

"I'm coming right now." Called Naomi before she hung up the phone and got into her car. She was worried about Addison. Addison and Mark seemed to finally be getting themselves together and then this happened.

"What's in the syringe?" Mark asked. He was trying to keep the conversation going. He knew that Addison was probably getting worried. It had been about two hours since he had left Addison's house.

"Vecuronium." Samantha informed him smugly. She wasn't about to tell him that she had another syringe filled with something different. That particular syringe was reserved for a certain tall redhead. Mark paled. He knew exactly what she had planned for the Vecuronium. That was a paralytic drug. He recognized it as the same drug he had given to many patients before so their bodies could heal after surgeries. He knew that if she caught hold of him he was useless. He found himself hoping that Sloane would come home early from wherever she was tonight. Surely Samantha wouldn't try to paralyze him if Sloane was here. He knew that as long as Samantha didn't get to him, Addison was safe.

"Paralyzing me won't help you get what you want." Mark told her.

"Oh yes it will. With you unable to intervene, I can go after that bitch Addison." Samantha told him calmly. Mark was furious at the name she called Addison. He wanted nothing more than to claw her eyes out. He couldn't risk getting closer to her though. The closer he got to her, the easier it was for her to grab him unexpectedly and plunge the syringe into his body.

The moment Mark turned his back on Samantha he knew it was a mistake. Within seconds he felt the needle plunge into his body. He felt his knees give way and he fell to the hardwood floor with a thud. Samantha capped the syringe and threw it in the trash. Now that Mark was useless, she could go after that redheaded bitch that was threatening the happiness that she could have with Mark and Sloane.

She pulled out the second syringe from a cardboard box in the hall closet. She knew exactly where that redheaded bitch lived and she was going to make sure that Addison never bothered her or her family again. Putting her shoes on, Samantha slipped the syringe into her purse and headed out the back door.

Just five minutes later, two cars pulled up to the house. Out of one car stepped an eighteen year old blonde and out of the other stepped Addison and Naomi. The minute Addison saw Sloane, her stomach lurched. She had known deep down that this was a ruse. She didn't want to think about what had happened to Mark inside the house.

"Sloane, what are you doing? Your mom called your dad and said you were sick and wanted to see him." Addison called as she walked over to her.

"What? I told my mom that I was heading to the movies with a few new friends." Sloane told Addison. She wasn't sure what was going on but she knew it couldn't be anything good. Naomi had gone to the front door and she couldn't get it open.

"What's going on?" demanded Sloane. She was starting to worry about her dad.

"Your front door is locked." Naomi told Sloane quickly.

"No, I mean with my mom and dad." Sloane clarified.

"We think your mother tricked your dad into coming here. We're worried." Naomi told Sloane. Sloane pulled her keys out of her purse and tried to unlock the door.

"Sloane, does the house have a garage door?" Addison asked. Sloane nodded and pointed in the direction of the garage door. Before she could blink Addison was headed for the garage door. Sloane and Naomi were hurrying along behind her.

When Addison got the garage door open and she had stepped into the house, something didn't feel right. Sloane came up right behind her and pushed her aside. She wasn't mean about it, but she knew this house better than Addison did. Naomi followed them both, feeling a knot in her stomach. She knew something had happened here in this house, she just wasn't sure exactly what it was.

"Dad?" Sloane called into the house. The silence was deafening and it wasn't until they reached the living room that they found him face down on the hardwood floor. Addison and Sloane raced to his side while Naomi pulled out her phone and called for an ambulance. There was no blood around his head which Addison was greatly relieved about.

Sloane and Addison were kneeling on either side of Mark. Addison saw that he was breathing and she let out a sigh of relief. At least he was breathing. Sloane reached out as if to move him and Addison put her hand on Sloane's.

"We can't move him. It could make internal injuries worse." Addison whispered. She was scared out of her mind but she didn't want Sloane to know that. She wished that Mark had listened to her concerns involving Samantha Riley. If he had, he wouldn't be lying here face down on the hardwood floor.

"I didn't know. I swear I didn't know what she was planning to do." Sloane whispered as tears pooled in her eyes. Sure she had been closer to her mom for her entire life but her father had really been there for her in the past few months. She hated herself for leaving that night and she was so glad she had come home when she did. She didn't want to think about what could have happened if she had gone to a late night movie like her new friends had suggested.

"It's okay. I believe you." Addison whispered back.

"Ambulance should be here in five minutes." Naomi told them as soon as she hung up the phone. She too was shaken up, but she was better at hiding it. The three of them sat waiting around an unresponsive man, hoping that he would make it. Hoping that the ambulance would get there soon. Each of them knew that the waiting game would be an agonizing one to play.


End file.
